LED Turn Signal Resistor Blows Fuse

[hojo]

I have a 2014 NC700XD and know that the LED Turn Signal Relay from Luckybike.com will not work on the '14 models (12 and 13 are ok); Lighting - Flash Controller - Honda - Relay - Turn Signal LED - 4 Pin

I went the LED Turn Signal Resistor route and I was able to identify the 3 turn signal wires (turn signal flashing, ground, and running light). I installed the "universal" resistor and discovered it blows the fuse. Here is the resistor: LED Turn Signal Flash Control Resistors.

Notes on install: 1. Again, I know which wires are which. 2. The instructions say to leave the running light wire alone. 3. I made sure that the two wires on one side were connected and not touching, and the wires on the other side of the resistor were not touching, so that they can't touch, arc and short the fuse.

I am waiting a reply back from the store and wonder if anyone here has any thoughts on the possible problem.

Thank you.

 

[hojo]

UPDATE: PROBLEM SOLVED

I have a "universal" turn signal resistor where instead of one wire on each end of the resistor, there are two wires and this is what caused my problem (instructions were poorly written and didn't mention the difference between one wire and a two wire universal resistor).

Here is how I initially installed the resistor that caused the fuse to blow:

Bulb
+ -
l l
l l
l l
Y Y Y= Yellow wire from resistor
l l
l l
l l
R R R=Resistor
l l
l l
l l
B B B=Black wire from resistor
l l
l l
l l
+ -
To turn signal switch


What I realized was that only 1 wire from the resistor is needed and should be installed like this:

Bulb
+ -
l l
l l
l l
Y--R-- B Where Y=Yellow Wire, R=resistor, B=Black Wire
l l
l l
l l
+ -
To turn signal switch

 

[ST13Fred]

Happy you got it figured out.

I may transfer hand guards that have built-in LEDs from my CRF250L (before selling) to the NC.
Ironically, when I switch L or R, one side turns off the LED on that side, but stays lit on the opposite side. I'm not sure how I wired it to do that,
but no harm no foul, or blown fuses. I actually prefer the side that shuts down the LED, making the OEM turn signal more conspicuous.

I'm curious where you mounted the LEDs. Possible pics?

 

[hojo]

Happy you got it figured out.

I may transfer hand guards that have built-in LEDs from my CRF250L (before selling) to the NC.
Ironically, when I switch L or R, one side turns off the LED, but stays lit on the opposite side. I'm not sure how I wired it to do that,
but no harm no foul, or blown fuses. I actually prefer the side that shuts down the LED, making the turn more conspicuous.

I'm curious where you mounted the LEDs. Possible pics?

I replaced the OEM turn signal bulbs and put LED bulbs in their place so it really wasn't anything special EXCEPT, in addition, I put on clear turn signal lenses. So for the front bulb when the bike is ON and the 'running lights' (turn signal) is on, they are bright white that at least when I'm standing in front of it, really looks bright to my naked eye. I guess I should walk down the road and see just how bright they are. When I turn on the turn signal, the bulb goes from white to amber and flashes amber. When I shut it off, it goes back to white.

I will get some photos after dark and post them if I don't have to run to work.

 

[hojo]

Lets see if I can post some 'day time photos', these photos were taken around 5 pm eastern standard time, with the sun starting to set, Ill get more once it's dark to see if the turn signals are visible or if the low bean headlight drowns it out.

 

[hojo]

No clue why the photos were turned sideways, they don't like that way on my computer.
Photo 1 was from distance
Photo 2 was half way
Photo 3 was with the 'running light' on the turn signal on
Photo 4 was with the turn signal on (to illuminate them both I used the emergency flashers).

 

[ST13Fred]

Clear turn signal lenses. Bike is ON and the 'running lights' is on, they are bright white. When I turn on the turn signal, the bulb goes from white to amber and flashes amber. When I shut it off, it goes back to white.

Sounds OK, however.......... notice on the OEM running/signal bulb, the running circuit shuts OFF when signalling on the higher wattage (turn) filament, giving a better effect of low wattage completely OFF to high wattage ON.
It appears on your circuit you go from white running light to amber signal light, w/no true ON/OFF sequence. And I don't know what the wattage difference is in your new setup.
When you say it 'flashes amber', it actually is 'changing amber', correct? Where am I going wrong here?

 

[hojo]

Sounds OK, however.......... notice on the OEM running/signal bulb, the running circuit shuts OFF when signalling on the higher wattage (turn) filament, giving a better effect of low wattage completely OFF to high wattage ON.
It appears on your circuit you go from white running light to amber signal light, w/no true ON/OFF sequence. And I don't know what the wattage difference is in your new setup.
When you say it 'flashes amber', it actually is 'changing amber', correct? Where am I going wrong here?

Let me first say that I have done nothing to change the actual wiring or modify the turn signal and/or running light. The only electrical mod I did was to add a resistor because the LED bulbs require less energy and if a resistor is not added (or a proper relay added), the LED turn signal bulbs will flash at a much higher rate (like 90 times a minutes instead of 60).

If you look at your OEM turn signal bulbs, the FRONT bulbs are illuminated all the time (solid amber) while the REAR bulbs are OFF. When you activate the turn signal, both the front and rear FLASH. With the OEM amber lens, the bulbs are white. The FRONT turn signal bulb is a DUAL FILAMENT bulb which means it has two circuits, or is basically two bulbs in one (running light and turn signal light). The rear turn signal bulb is a SINGLE Filament bulb which means that it only comes on with the turn signal being activated, or the emergency flashers.

Some of us like the looks of a clear lens over the turn signal bulbs. If a clear lens is put on, the bulbs need to be changed as well, other wise the OEM bulbs are white, will not flash amber as they should. You can purchase regular bulbs that are not LED's but they look white and flash amber, something like this;

Chrome (Amber) Turn Signal Bulbs, 1157 / 1156 Replacement Bulbs, (Pair)

I wanted to go the LED route to have less power draw and last longer than a normal bulb. The rear bulb is simple, just an a regular amber bulb works fine (LED), but the front has to be White/Amber, here is an example of what they look like:

2pc 1034 1157 White Amber High Power SMD LED Switchback Front Turn Signal Light | eBay

So, when the bike is on (just as they do on every NC700), the front turn signal bulbs are white (in a clear lens), while the back turn signal bulbs are off. When I turn the left turn signal on, the left front bulb flashes amber, and the left rear bulb flashes amber, while the right front turn signal bulb stays white and the rear stays off. There is no change (as far as I know) to the higher wattage when switching from running light to turn signal, except for the fact that the rear bulb comes on with the turn signal.

 

[ST13Fred]

OK, we're good then. You've changed nothing in the turn switch, which shuts off your run (white) circuit when the L or R turn (amber) circuit are energized. I was thinking the run circuit was not being shut off.
My F800 had clear lenses w/amber incandescent bulbs. I may look into going your route as the LED are the better lighting for several reasons.

 

[670cc]

Is your engine unpainted or black? Honda power sports web site shows ALL USA NCs unpainted, but there are painted units in the US, which is odd. I like the black. My 2013 XD is unpainted.

Never mind Honda marketing materials and Web sites. They are notoriously inaccurate for specs and photos. In fact, on the Web site's 360 degree view of the 2015 NC700X, the fine print says "Previous model shown".

If you look at the parts listing for NC700X 2013 vs 2014, you will note there is a different suffix for all the painted engine parts. Also note that the 2012-2013 are not unpainted, rather they are painted grey. While the part description does not specify the paint color, I suspect that the D30 suffix indicates the grey 2012-2013 parts, while the D10 suffix indicates the black 2014-2015 parts.

 

[ST13Fred]

Thanks for the info, Greg.

It makes sense that Honda does paint all their exterior engine surfaces, so production costs are probably the same, regardless of color.
But how difficult is it to be more accurate w/the pictures and descriptions of the products they sell? So the 2014/2015 are all black painted engines w/nothing on any Honda website showing this.

I don't want to appear thin skinned about this but I must admit I feel a little slighted by what I consider the Honda marketing departments' pure laziness; this is no oversight.
Color is a very important driver in anything being sold to the public. But obviously what is important to me is not to them.
Talking to American Honda about anything gets ones input noted and never a call back response. Oh well, life goes on.

 

[670cc]

Thanks for the info, Greg.

It makes sense that Honda does paint all their exterior engine surfaces, so production costs are probably the same, regardless of color.
But how difficult is it to be more accurate w/the pictures and descriptions of the products they sell? So the 2014/2015 are all black painted engines w/nothing on any Honda website showing this.

I don't want to appear thin skinned about this but I must admit I feel a little slighted by what I consider the Honda marketing departments' pure laziness; this is no oversight.
Color is a very important driver in anything being sold to the public. But obviously what is important to me is not to them.
Talking to American Honda about anything gets ones input noted and never a call back response. Oh well, life goes on.

Sorry for getting way off thread topic here, but yes, the marketing is sloppy. Other companies are guilty, too. It becomes apparent only when we begin to know the product line better than the salesmen and the marketing department.

It's not just color, either. I recall a long thread here where people were actually basing NC700X purchase decisions off the Honda Web site specs for front suspension travel, citing differences between the 2012 and 2013 model years. In reality there was no difference in suspension travel between 2012 and 2013, but a typo on the spec sheet led people to believe that there was. Parts numbers and service manual specs finally settled the discussion.